Protective Helmet

ABSTRACT

A firefighter&#39;s helmet comprising an inner protective shell configured to be worn on its own as a helmet and an outer protective shell configured to be fitted over the inner shell and realizably retained thereon, a retaining mechanism for retaining the inner shell in the outer shell, wherein the retaining mechanism is moveable by a user whilst wearing the inner shell between a first position in which the retaining mechanism engages a said shell substantially to prevent relative movement between the two shells, and a second position in which the retaining mechanism permits relative movement of the shells whereby allowing the donning or doffing of the outer shell by the user.

The present invention relates to protective helmets, and in particularto firefighters' helmets.

Existing firefighters' helmets comprise a protective outer shell madefrom impact-resistant plastics or the like which is intended to protectthe wearer from falling debris which often is a hazard of burningbuildings. To protect the wearer also from the heat and sparks emittedfrom a fire, the helmet includes a visor and neck protector to protectthe head, face and neck of the wearer.

There are cases where the full protective effect of a firefightinghelmet is not required. For example, firefighters may have to provide arescue service at other emergencies in which there is no fire. Then alarge firefighting helmet may be inconvenient, but head protection isstill necessary. In particular, in the case of road traffic accidents,when a firefighter may need to work in a confined space eg. Within adamaged vehicle, the large helmet may be an impediment. In these cases,it is often found that firefighters will simply remove their helmets,exposing themselves to unnecessary danger. The preferred embodiments ofthis invention seek to provide a solution to this problem.

Although some two-layer helmets have been proposed to solve this problemit is awkward to both fit the inner and outer helmets on the wearershead securely and provide a wearer friendly mechanism for disengagingthe outer helmet.

According to this invention there is provided a firefighters helmetcomprising an inner protective shell configured to be worn on its own asa helmet, and an outer protective shell configured to be fitted over theinner shell and releasably retained thereon, comprising a retainingmechanism for retaining the inner shell in the outer shell, wherein theretaining mechanism is moveable by a user whilst wearing the inner shellbetween a first position in which the retaining mechanism engages a saidshell substantially to prevent relative movement between the two shellsand a second position in which the retaining mechanism permits relativemovement of the shells whereby allowing the donning or doffing of theouter shell by the users.

Preferably the outer shell has an outwardly extending brim or cape.

The helmet may comprise a spacer for spacing the outer shell from theinner shell. The helmet may comprise a visor which is accommodatedbetween the inner and outer shells when not in use.

The retaining mechanism may be releasably biased towards the firstposition. Preferably the retaining mechanism is moveable by a userwhilst wearing the inner shell in order to move it from the first to thesecond position for allowing the introduction or removal of the outershell onto or off the inner shell. The retaining mechanism may bepivotally connected to the helmet. The retaining mechanism may bepivotally mounted to an attachment mechanism which is connected to theouter shell, the retaining mechanism thereby being spaced from the outershell.

The inner helmet may comprise a slot which is engageable by theattachment mechanism such that when the retaining mechanism is in thesecond position the attachment mechanism can be moved through the slotwhilst when the retaining mechanism is in the first position theattachment mechanism cannot be moved through the slot. The retainingmechanism may engage a lower edge of the slot whilst in the firstposition.

The attachment mechanism may comprise a mounting for an accessory to thehelmet.

The retaining mechanism may be disposed on the outer shell, in whichcase it may engage a lower edge of the inner shell.

A helmet as described above may comprise a mounting for attaching atleast one accessory to the helmet.

Embodiments of the invention are now described purely by way of exampleand with reference to the following figures:

FIG. 1A shows the outer helmet;

FIG. 1B shows the inner helmet;

FIGS. 2A and 2B show front and side views of the helmet shells assembledtogether;

FIG. 3 shows an inside view of the inner shell locked into the outerhelmet shell;

FIGS. 4 to 7 show outer helmet shells with provision for variousdetachable accessories and ancillary equipment;

FIG. 8 shows schematically an exploded view of a second embodiment of anouter helmet and an inner helmet, having a different attachmentmechanism from that of FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 9 shows schematically a side perspective view of the attachmentmechanism for securing the helmets shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 shows schematically a front view of the attachment mechanism ofFIG. 9;

FIG. 11 shows schematically the helmets being attached together;

FIG. 12 shows schematically the attachment Mechanism in a lockedposition; and

FIG. 13 shows schematically the attachment mechanism in an unlockedposition.

FIGS. 1A and B show a firefighter's helmet comprising separate inner andouter shells. The inner shell of FIG. 1B (generally denoted as 10) iswearable on its own as an impact-resisting helmet. It comprises an outerprotective moulding 12 of glass fibre-reinforced plastics or otherimpact-resisting plastics within which is a further impact resistinglayer as known per se. The shell 10 is worn by the user by mechanism ofa net cap or liner having a headband 14 and chinstrap 16. There is alsoan ocular protector 18 to protect the firefighter's eyes when only theinner shell is being worn. The outer shell of FIG. 1A (generally denotedas 20) comprises a protective moulding 22 of glass fibre reinforcedplastics or other impact-resisting plastics material. It has a largeenough interior to accommodate the inner shell 10. It also has retainingclips 26 to hold the outer shell onto the inner shell. The outer shellhas a full visor 24 to protect the firefighter's face from flying debrisand from radiant heat. The visor 24 is pivotally mounted at the sides ofthe outer shell 20 by mechanism of links 28, 30 pivotally connected tothe moulding 22 and the visor 24. Together with the distances betweenthe pivots on the visor and between the pivots on the moulding, thelinks 28, 30 form a four-bar linkage which enables the visor to movebetween a deployed position in which it covers the wearer's face, and astowed position (FIG. 2B) in which it is retracted between the inner andouter shells. The use of a four-bar linkage enables the relatively largevisor 24 to move along a path close to the surface of the inner helmet.Thereby the outer shell can fit compactly over it. The ocular shield 18may also be pivotable on a four-bar linkage for storage within the innershell. However because the shield is shallower, a single-point pivot maysuffice.

As can be seen from the arrows linking FIGS. 1A and 1B, the outer shellis fitted over the inner shell and the retaining clips 26 lock theshells together. The shells in their locked-together state are shown inFIGS. 2A and 2B. FIG. 2A shows a front view of the shells when lockedtogether. The figure shows the outer shell 20 in section and the innershell 10 in full. FIG. 2B shows a side view of the shells lockedtogether with the visor 24 of the outer shell 20 in a stowed positionbetween the two shells (10,20).

The rim 32 of the inner shell 12 engages pads (not shown) on the innersurface of the outer shell 22 around the greater part of itscircumference, except at the front where a gap is provided to permit thepassage of the visor 24. A further pad or pads (not shown) is providedin the comb 34 so that when the outer shell is pulled down on to theinner shell and the retaining clip 26 engaged the outer shell is firmlylocated on the inner shell with a gap of approximately 6 mm betweenthem.

Referring to FIG. 3, each retaining clip 26 is disposed in a housing 27and biased outwardly by a spring (not shown). The clip 26 can be pressedinto its housing 27 in order to allow the inner helmet 10 to slide pastthe clip 26 into the outer helmet 20. The clip 26 is tapered in such away that the sliding of the outer helmet onto the inner helmet has theeffect of pressing the clip in so that it does not need to be pressed-inmanually when the helmets are fully together, the spring returns theclip 26 to a protruding position to hold the shells in place. Theorientation of the shells can be seen via the relative positioning ofthe ocular protector 18 and the visor 24 (which are aligned with eachother).

Also visible in FIG. 3 is a net cap 34 forming the suspension of thehelmet on the wearer's head. The net 34 is adjustable as known per so tofit the helmet comfortably to the wearer's head in the correct position.In particular an adjustable nape pad 36 in combination with the chinstrap 16 and an adjustable forehead pad 38 locates thehelmet-fore-and-aft so that the ocular shield 18 and the visor 24 areproperly positioned.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the helmet which has a slot 40 formounting breathing apparatus, and an external lever 41 for moving thevisor 24 between its stowed and deployed positions. Alternatively, ifthe bottom edge of the visor 24 projects from the outer shell whenstowed so as to be graspable by a firefighter's gloved hand, the lever41 can be omitted.

FIG. 5 shows a neck curtain 42 attached to the outer shell 20, toprovide additional protection against falling ash or embers.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the helmet which has a mounting for atorch 44.

FIG. 7 shows a fold out hook loop 46 of the outer shell of the helmet inuse to hang the helmet.

Provision may instead or in addition be made on the inner helmet formounting accessories, and though it may not be possible to fit the outerhelmet over it when the accessories are in place.

FIG. 8 shows schematically an exploded view of an outer helmet 50, andinner helmet 52 which comprises an inner portion 54, adapted to fit auser's head, and an outer liner 56 to which a visor 58 is attached. Anattachment mechanism 60, which connects the inner and outer helmets, isshown in more detail in FIGS. 9 and 10.

The attachment mechanism 60, comprises two main portions: a U shapedhousing 62 and a lever 64, which is pivotally mounted on the housing atA. A torsion spring (not shown) connects the lever 64 to the housing 62and biases the lever 64 in a direction which would be clockwise as seenin FIG. 9. The torsion spring may, alternatively, be formed in the bodyof the lever 64, particularly if the lever is of a plastics material.

The lever 64 comprises an upper portion 66 which is generallyrectangular, offset from the midline of, and positioned at a slightangle to a lower portion 68 of the lever 64. The upper portion 66 has atop surface 69. A sloping abutment surface 70 connects one side of thetwo portions. Due to the biasing of the torsion spring this surface isnormally in contact with a raised surface 72 of the leg of theattachment mechanism on which the lever is disposed.

The external surface of the leg of the U-shaped housing 62 opposite thelever 64 is glued to an internal surface of the outer helmet 50. Theother leg of the housing may be connected to the inner helmet asfollows.

A slot 74, which is slightly wider than the leg of the U-shaped housingon which the lever 64 is disposed, is formed in the inner portion 54 ofthe inner helmet 52. The slot is approximately 25 mm long and formedmidway between the front and rear of the helmet, around halfway up thehelmet's side. At the rear of the slot 74 is a solid abutment surface76, which is as deep as the slot and approximately the same width as thetop surface of the lever 64.

To connect the helmets the user inserts the lever 64 into the slot, andpulls the outer helmet 50 in a generally downward direction. FIG. 11shows the two helmets during the attachment process. As the slot movesupwardly relative to the attachment mechanism, past the pivot point ofthe lever 64, because it is so narrow it forces the lever to pivotanti-clockwise (as seen in FIG. 9). When the slot moves past the topsurface of the lever, its anti-clockwise moment on the lever is releasedand, biased by the spring, the lever snaps back into a position shown inFIG. 12. The top surface of the lever 64 now abuts the solid abutmentsurface 76 of the slot 74, locking the two helmets together.

If the user should wish to disengage the helmets, she simply rotates thelower portion of the lever anti-clockwise, so that the top surface ofthe lever is aligned with the slot 74, as shown in FIG. 13, and liftsthe upper helmet off the lower one.

A second attachment mechanism (not shown) is disposed opposite the firstattachment mechanism and is its mirror image, being appropriatelybiased. Both levers must be engaged or disengaged when donning ordoffing the helmet.

Some other features of the attachment mechanism 60 are shown in FIG. 10.The attachment mechanism may have two lugs 80 to which the visor 58, andthe liner 56 may be attached, in which case the lowest portion of theleg of the housing to which the lugs are attached may be formed asU-shape to provide a stop for the visor 58. A connector 82 for breathingapparatus may be formed on an external surface of the housing.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (which term includes theclaims) and/or shown in the drawings may be incorporated in theinvention independently of other disclosed and/or illustrated features.Statements in this specification of the “objects of the invention”relate to preferred embodiments of the invention, but not necessarily toall embodiments of the invention falling within the claims. Thedescription of the invention with reference to the drawings is by way ofexample only.

The text of the abstract filed herewith is hereby deemed to be repeatedhere in full as part of the specification.

A firefighter's helmet comprises an inner protective shell configured tobe worn on its own as a helmet and an outer protective shell configuredto be fitted over the inner shell and releasably retained thereon,comprising retaining mechanism for retaining the inner shell in theouter shell, wherein the retaining mechanism is moveable by a userwhilst wearing the inner shell between a first position in which theretaining mechanism engages a said shell substantially to preventrelative movement between the two shells; and a second position in whichthe retaining mechanism permits relative movement of the shells wherebyallowing the donning or doffing of the outer shell by the user.

Publish FIGS. 1A and 1B

1-15. (canceled)
 16. A firefighter's helmet comprising an inner protective shell having an outer layer of impact-resisting plastics and an inner-impact-resisting layer, the inner shell being wearable on its own when the user is attending an incident other than a structural fire, and an outer shell adapted to fit over the inner shell and to be retained thereon, the outer shell being more extensive that the inner shell so as to protect the user against structural firefighting risks, and being configured to be fitted to and removed from the inner shell by the user whilst wearing the inner shell.
 17. A firefighter's helmet comprising an inner protective shell configured to be worn on its own as a helmet and an outer protective shell configured to be fitted over the inner shell and releasably retained thereon, comprising retaining mechanism for retaining the inner shell in the outer shell, wherein the retaining mechanism is moveable by a user whilst wearing the inner shell between a first position in which the retaining mechanism engages a said shell substantially to prevent relative movement between the two shells; and a second position in which the retaining mechanism permits relative movement of the shells whereby allowing the donning or doffing of the outer shell by the user.
 18. A helmet as claimed in claim 16, wherein the outer shell has an outwardly extending brim or cape.
 19. A helmet according to claim 16, comprising a spacer for spacing the outer shell from the inner shell.
 20. A helmet according to claim 16, comprising a visor which is accommodated between the inner and outer shells when not in use.
 21. A helmet according to claim 17, wherein the retaining mechanism is resiliently biased towards the first position.
 22. A helmet according to claim 21, wherein the retaining mechanism is moveable by a user whilst wearing the inner shell in order to move it from the first to the second position.
 23. A helmet according to claim 17, wherein the retaining mechanism is pivotally connected to the helmet.
 24. A helmet according to claim 17, wherein the retaining mechanism is disposed on the outer shell.
 25. A helmet according to claim 24, wherein the retaining mechanism engages a lower edge of the inner shell.
 26. A helmet according to claim 23, wherein the retaining mechanism is pivotally mounted on an attachment mechanism which is connected to the outer shell, the retaining mechanism thereby being spaced from the outer shell.
 27. A helmet according to claim 26, wherein the inner helmet comprises a slot, which is engageable by the attachment mechanism such that when the retaining mechanism is in the second position the attachment mechanism can be moved through the slot whilst when the retaining mechanism is in the first position the attachment mechanism cannot be moved through the slot.
 28. A helmet according to claim 27, wherein the retaining mechanism engages a lower edge of the slot when in the first position.
 29. A helmet according to claim 26, wherein the attachment mechanism comprises a mounting for an accessory to the helmet.
 30. A helmet according to claim 27, wherein the attachment mechanism comprises a mounting for an accessory to the helmet.
 31. A helmet according to claim 28, wherein the attachment mechanism comprises a mounting for an accessory to the helmet.
 32. A helmet according to claim 16, comprising a mounting for attaching at least one accessory to the helmet.
 33. A method of protecting a firefighter comprising providing the firefighter with a helmet comprising an inner protective shell wearable on its own and an outer protective shell adapted to fit over and to be retained on the inner shell and causing the firefighter to wear the inner shell or both shells depending on the nature of the risk presented by the incident which the firefighter is attending.
 34. A method according to claim 33, wherein the firefighter dons or doffs the outer shell whilst wearing the inner shell. 